These terns are found in tropical and subtropical areas of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans.They eat fish, crustaceans, and squid, often hovering over the water’s surface before diving to capture their prey. They sometimes forage near dolphins or predatory fish which drive prey to the surface. Breeding on small coral islands, they build their nests in trees or bushes. Predation on some of their nesting islands by introduced rats and cats pose a threat to their population, but human alteration of other islands has increased available nesting habitat.